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It's been more than a year since Eric Garrett was allegedly discharged from a Redding hospital ― confused, without shoes on his feet and unable to tell the taxi driver where he lived.
Even though Garrett was sent home more than a year ago, he still suffers from health problems related to what happened to him the night he left Mercy Medical Center Redding, according to his attorney, David Chen of Oakland.
The 64-year-old Redding man was taken to Mercy in Redding on May 20, 2023, after he had a seizure at home, fell down and hit his head, according to a lawsuit filed in July on his behalf in Shasta County Superior Court.
Garrett arrived at the hospital at about 10 p.m., was first seen at 11:56 p.m. and was discharged at 1:49 a.m. Dr. John Kelsey made the decision to discharge Garrett from the hospital, according to the lawsuit.
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But the lawsuit alleges Garrett was not able to make decisions for himself when he was released from the hospital.
"Instead of ensuring that plaintiff (Garrett) was stable and was able to make coherent decisions, Kelsey and the staff at Mercy discharged him home after only approximately two hours of observation," the lawsuit says.
Mercy spokeswoman Allison Hendrickson issued a statement from the hospital about the lawsuit. “The care and safety of our patients is always our top priority. Dignity Health is aware that a lawsuit has been filed. However, we cannot discuss any matters related to pending litigation,” the statement said.
The Record Searchlight left two messages for Kelsey at the Mercy emergency room. The third time the paper attempted to reach the doctor at the hospital, the reporter was told they could not leave a message.
This is how events unfolded that night according to the lawsuit, which alleges negligence and medical malpractice by the hospital and Kelsey.
The hospital staff allegedly put Garrett in a taxi and sent him to his home shortly before 2 a.m. on May 21, 2023. But the hospital staff gave the taxi driver the wrong address. Instead of sending him to his home in the 6000 block of Churn Creek Road south of Redding, Garrett was taken to a house on Kinene Court in Redding, where Garrett had lived eight years before.
"Due to his seizures and confused state, plaintiff was unable to care for himself or to provide the taxi driver with correct information as to where to go," the suit says.
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Chen said his client was disoriented because of the seizures he suffered the night before.
He was discharged from the hospital early in the morning, without shoes or his belongings, the suit says. The house on Kinene Court was vacant when Garrett was dropped off, so he could not get inside. Instead he spent the night in the home's backyard, where he had another seizure and hurt himself again, the lawsuit says.
Later that day, Garrett's family discovered he was not at home. When they contacted the hospital, staff told them he was taken to the house on Kinene Court.
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"The family found plaintiff extremely confused and asleep in the yard of the empty house," the lawsuit says. Garrett had a large knot on his head. He was taken back to the hospital, where they found he had fractures on his back.
Garrett had been taken to Mercy by ambulance from his home on Churn Creek Road south of Redding, so the hospital should have had a record of his correct address, Chen said.
The lawsuit says the mix-up was partly to blame on inadequate staff on duty when Garrett was brought to the hospital and the employees on duty were not property trained.
The lawsuit does not specify a dollar amount in damage claims.
Reporter Damon Arthur welcomes story tips at 530-338-8834, by email at damon.arthur@redding.com and on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @damonarthur_RS. Help local journalism thrive by subscribing today!
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Man sues Redding hospital he claims discharged him to the wrong house
